Change Management and Role of Leader

In today’s dynamic business environment, change has become more of a compulsion then an option to any surviving organization. Constant change due to rising crisis or transformation towards betterment; every organization must learn to come out of their inertia and adopt these changes. But the hurdle in this way is the attitude of the people, they are mostly reluctant to come out of their comfort zones and accept change. This is the point where the role of the top management/leaders in the organization begins.

Managers and direct supervisors who have influence on the people resisting change can work as the catalyst of change through their attitude by supporting and motivating their employees to accept the change. They understand their roles in facilitating change in the organization and can play some very important roles in the process, such as:

The Advocate

Leaders are the catalyst of change in any organization. They initiate the change process, they propagate the change, and they make the change happen. They keep it alive by sponsoring it with due attention, political capital and constant substantial motivation.

The Innovator

Leaders are and should be the first one to adapt the new change. They should themselves acquire the behaviors and attitude foremost that is expected from everyone else. The employees in the organization look towards the leader for the reliability between words and actions to see if the change really going to happen or not. Leaders have to be the role models who are realistic, aware and highly pumped up to adapt the change.

The Decision-Maker

Managers are the team leaders; they have complete control over many organizational resources such as people, budgets, equipment, etc and thus they have the ability to proceed/stop any project by saying ‘yes/no’. During the change process, they must leverage their authority over projects to motivate the employees to adapt and accept the change. The Leaders are very intelligent and know how to set priorities that support change.

The Catalyst

Leaders are the voice of change. Employees receive great amount of information when working in the organization. The messages they listen to most is the ones they receive from their immediate boss. Therefore, leaders must ensure to deliver relevant, transparent and consistent messages which serve their purpose of facilitating and implementing the change.

The Motivator

The Leaders are the motivators who are energetic and compassionate. They create the right motivational strategies to create a sense of urgency and importance about the change, and show commitment and passion about getting things done. They play the role of igniter for all by appreciating and recognizing those who are participating and doing well. Leaders are aware of the resistance people face when accepting change and the need for motivation to pump them to adapt the change successfully and comfortably.

The Implementer

Leaders have control over their employees and the organization. They can utilize their influence to ensure the implementation and adaption of change. They don’t let people get away without adapting change; they work to understand the underlying obstacles preventing people from changing and finding the correct solutions to remove these hindrances.

Thus, concluding it can be said that leaders play a very vital role in not just igniting the change, but also developing the right strategies to help others to adapt to those changes, ensure its acceptance and develop the corresponding change in attitude and behavior. The Leaders therefore, must clearly understand their role and play their part with complete responsibility in facilitating successful organizational change.